Shots fired in Bath when daughter wrestles gun out of distraught mother’s hands

BATH, Maine — The adult daughter of a distraught woman might have saved her mother’s life Monday night by wrestling a handgun out of her grasp, according to police. No one was injured.

Bath police officers were sent to a Central Avenue apartment at 8:36 p.m. Monday for a reported shooting. Responding officers learned that two shots had been fired from a .25-caliber handgun after a woman interrupted an apparent suicide attempt by her 56-year-old mother. The intoxicated and emotional woman was being held to the ground by two other people when officers arrived, according to a press release from Bath Police Department.

A preliminary investigation revealed that there had been a drinking party at the residence involving at least seven adults. At some point during the party, the 56-year-old woman went into the bathroom, which became a cause of concern for her adult daughter. The daughter found her mother holding the handgun and attempted to take it away.

“A struggle over the gun ensued and two shots were fired before the daughter was able to take it away,” states the press release.

The woman was taken by Bath Rescue to Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick for evaluation. The incident remains under investigation, according to Police Chief Michael Field, who encouraged anyone dealing with depression or an emotional crisis to call the state’s 24-hour crisis hotline at 888-568-1112.